It Is Well Known That There Are Four Kinds of Monks
St. Benedict of Nursia describes the four kinds of monks and emphasizes the importance of discipline and self-control in the spiritual life.
St. Benedict of Nursia distinguishes between four kinds of monks: Cenobites who live in monasteries under a rule and an Abbot, Anchorites or Hermits who go out to combat the devil after learning in a monastery, Sarabaites who live without discipline or experience, and Gyrovagues who wander from place to place indulging in their own desires. St. Benedict focuses on providing a rule for the Cenobites, the strongest kind of monks, with God's help.
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It is well known that there are four kinds of monks.
The first kind are the Cenobites:
those who live in monasteries
and serve under a rule and an Abbot.
The second kind are the Anchorites or Hermits:
those who,
no longer in the first fervor of their reformation,
but after long probation in a monastery,
having learned by the help of many brethren
how to fight against the devil,
go out well armed from the ranks of the community
to the solitary combat of the desert.
They are able now,
with no help save from God,
to fight single-handed against the vices of the flesh
and their own evil thoughts.
The third kind of monks, a detestable kind, are the Sarabaites.
These, not having been tested,
as gold in the furnace (Wis. 3:6),
by any rule or by the lessons of experience,
are as soft as lead.
In their works they still keep faith with the world,
so that their tonsure marks them as liars before God.
They live in twos or threes, or even singly,
without a shepherd,
in their own sheepfolds and not in the Lord's.
Their law is the desire for self-gratification:
whatever enters their mind or appeals to them,
that they call holy;
what they dislike, they regard as unlawful.
The fourth kind of monks are those called Gyrovagues.
These spend their whole lives tramping from province to province,
staying as guests in different monasteries
for three or four days at a time.
Always on the move, with no stability,
they indulge their own wills
and succumb to the allurements of gluttony,
and are in every way worse than the Sarabaites.
Of the miserable conduct of all such
it is better to be silent than to speak.
Passing these over, therefore,
let us proceed, with God's help,
to lay down a rule for the strongest kind of monks, the Cenobites.
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction to the Four Kinds of Monks
- 'A. Cenobites: monks who live in monasteries and serve under a rule and an Abbot'
- 'B. Anchorites or Hermits: monks who go out to solitary combat in the desert'
- 'C. Sarabaites: a detestable kind of monk who lives in their own sheepfolds'
- 'D. Gyrovagues: monks who spend their lives tramping from province to province'
Key Quotes
“They are able now, with no help save from God, to fight single-handed against the vices of the flesh and their own evil thoughts.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
“Their law is the desire for self-gratification: whatever enters their mind or appeals to them, that they call holy; what they dislike, they regard as unlawful.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
“Of the miserable conduct of all such it is better to be silent than to speak.” — St. Benedict of Nursia
Application Points
- Discipline and self-control are essential for spiritual growth and development.
- Living in community with others can provide a supportive environment for spiritual growth.
- It is better to be silent than to speak about the miserable conduct of those who lack discipline and self-control.